1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to connectors, such as connectors for use with optical fibers. More particularly, the invention relates to hardened connector systems, such as connectors used in outside plant applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Network providers and customers often need factory terminated, environmentally-sealed, hardened connectors and adapters for use in drop-cable deployments in optical access networks. Also, network providers and customers often desire products that significantly reduce terminal and drop cable installation times and total deployment cost. The connectors and adapters that are used should be hardened to protect against extreme temperature, moisture, chemical exposure, and other harsh conditions typically found in outside plant environments.
Hardened connectors typically are used to connect multi-port terminals or fiber terminal closures, which usually are located at the street (e.g., in aerial configurations or in below-ground hand holes), to Optical Network Terminals (ONTs), which usually are located at end user premises. During build-out, the connector system typically is mated to the external surface of the fiber terminal, so that connections can be completed without opening the enclosure, thus essentially creating a “plug and play” connection. When hardened connectors are deployed in a Multi-Dwelling Unit (MDU) application, the hardened connectors typically are fed into holes drilled into the exterior wall of a building. Such holes typically are approximately 0.50 of an inch in diameter.
Several connector manufacturers and vendors offer hardened connectors and associated adapters for various applications, including Fiber to the x (FTTx) applications, such as Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) or Fiber To The Home (FTTH) applications. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,406 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,150,567. Such connectors consist of an SC Connector plug enclosed in a pronged plug housing, fitted with two silicone O-rings. Upon insertion of the connector into the adapter (e.g., the adapter shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,650), the O-rings are compressed against smooth walls within the adapter, to provide a water tight seal between the connector and adapter housing. The adapter uses a silicone O-ring to provide a water-tight seal against a panel or enclosure wall. Cable retention is achieved by sandwiching and bonding the cable's strength members within a two-piece crimp body and then crimping a metal crimp band into place over the crimp body. Heat-shrink tubing is used over the cable at the rear of the connector to prevent water from entering the plug housing.
Such connectors are among the most popular connectors currently available. However, the outside diameter of such connectors typically is approximately 0.80 of an inch, which can not be pulled through a 90° bend in 0.75 inch American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Schedule 40 conduit. Similarly, such connectors can not be inserted through the 0.50 of an inch diameter holes drilled in building walls, e.g., in MDU applications. Also, such connectors typically have a threaded coupling nut, which takes a relatively long time to screw into place compared to other alternatives, such as a push-pull configuration. Also, when such connectors are subjected to relatively excessive cable loads, e.g., due to ice build up on aerial cables, the connectors sometimes can separate from their corresponding adapters in a manner that permanently damages the adapters, thus requiring the entire adapter to be replaced. Since the adapters typically are permanently pre-installed in the fiber terminals during the manufacture of the fiber terminals (to ensure a water tight seal), the entire terminal often has to be replaced in such case.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have available a hardened connector system that addresses and overcomes the aforementioned issues associated with many conventional hardened connectors and connector systems.